British journalist Mazher Mahmood, renowned for his "fake sheikh" undercover sting operations for media mogul Rupert Murdoch's tabloids, was jailed for 15 months on Friday for tampering with evidence in a high-profile trial.
Mahmood, 53, whose elaborate disguises have duped criminals, celebrities, and even royalty, plotted to get his driver to change a police statement during the drugs prosecution of Tulisa Contostavlos, a singer and former judge of the British version of the "X Factor" TV talent show.
Contostavlos had been about to go on trial accused of supplying cocaine for Mahmood, the self-styled "King of the Sting," as he posed as an influential Indian film producer while working on an exclusive story for the Sun on Sunday paper.